Career Day
by fanatic218
Summary: It's career day at Jack's school, and Hotch has to explain his job to a group of five year olds. What can go wrong? Please read a review!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N~ _Ok so this had been going through my mind for a while now and I want to get it just right, so it will probably be a while between chapters, though I don't think that there will be too many. Hope you like it!

**Career Day**

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" It was a sound that Aaron Hotchner would never get tired of hearing every morning, and it was something he would never take for granted. Right at six fifteen, just like any normal day, his five year old son jumped onto his father's bed to wake him up. Hotch didn't even set his alarm clock anymore – anyone with a small child would understand. But unlike any normal day, today was career day at Jack's preschool. Why a preschool would have career day for a group of five year olds was beyond him. What five-year old wants to be anything other than a vet, firefighter, or racecar driver?

A week ago, when he got the notice from the school, he disregarded it altogether. Like he was really going to explain to a classroom full of little kids how he caught serial rapists and murderers for a living. He would rather work victimology with Reid for a month. But the look on Jack's face was so sad when he told him he wasn't going to be there, that he went to Garcia to help put together a kid friendly way of explaining the horrors they faced each day.

Of course only Garcia would of came up with making case files with popular cartoon characters as the heroes and villains and make the murder weapon laser-eye powers. He had a fake file in a real FBI folder for each kid with fake pictures and reports.

"Ok buddy. I'm up, I'm up," Hotch said, his voice still thick with sleep. "It's caweer day daddy!" Jack exclaimed with a huge grin on his face. Hotch couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah it is Jack! Let's get ready to go, okay?"

Hotch dropped Jack off at school an hour later and then headed to work. He didn't need to be at the school again until noon, so he figured that he would get some work done before he went in for career day.

/

Exiting his office at eleven fifteen, Hotch was in a hurry. He quickly grabbed his bags and the case files for the presentation before practically running out to his car. Just as he was about to exit the bull-pin after a quick goodbye to the team and a good luck from them all, Strauss came storming in.

"Agent Hotchner! I need to meet with you now!" Her tone was sharp and angry. Hotch glanced down at his watch. Even if he left right now, he would get to the school just before the presentations needed to start. He did NOT have time for one of Strauss' meaningless meetings on budget cuts on post it notes, nor did he want to let down Jack.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but this is not a good time. Can we do this later?" he said the most polite voice he could muster up.

"No, agent, we cannot do this later. The board wants these decisions as soon as possible, and I demand that y-" She cut off her sentence and let out a shriek.

"Oh ma'am I am _so_ sorry!" Emily Prentiss said with fake remorse. Sitting at her desk, she had seen Strauss approach Hotch, and then heard her yelling for him to go to some meeting, probably about post it note prices, she thought, rolling her eyes. But there was no way that Erin Strauss was going to mess up Hotch's career day activities for Jack's class. From what Garcia had said, he had put a lot into trying to make it fun for the kids, and not introduce them to the horrors of the job at the same time. So she decided to take the long way to the break room, and very conveniently trip and spill the full cup of hot coffee she had just gotten three minutes before all over Strauss' expensive looking dress shirt. Opps.

"Ma'am, I really am sorry. Jeez, I hope this comes out, it's a nice looking shirt," she did a pretty good job of faking sincerity, though all she wanted to do at the moment was laugh in the woman's face as she freaked out over a little coffee spill. As expected, she dismissed Hotch for the day before walking away to attempt to clean her shirt.

Hotch turned to Prentiss with a bemused look. "What? I guess I'm a little clumsy today," Prentiss said with a grin. Hotch couldn't help smile back. She just spilled coffee over her boss' boss so he could get to his son's career day. Wow.

"That's really too bad Prentiss; it was a nice shirt." He winked before walking out the bull-pin.

/

Five minutes after Hotch left, Prentiss walked up to his office. He worked so hard all the time and she thought he could use a break, so she grabbed a few of the case files on top of his desk. Sitting back down at hers, she opened the first one. At first, she was surprised; then she began to panic. If these were the fake files that Hotch made up for the kids in Jacks class, then the real files were with Hotch, about to be distributed to a group of five year old children. She quickly pulled out her phone and hit speed dial two. Voicemail. He probably turned it off in case Strauss changed her mind about the meeting.

Seeing no other option, she gathered the fake files from her desk and Hotch's, and headed out of the office.

/

Hotch got to Jack's school five minutes before noon to find a group of parents standing in the hall outside of the room. Nodding in greeting to a few of the dads he recognized, he took his place along the wall. It was mainly dads doing career day presentations, and a few moms, but it was silent. No one said a word to one another. Hotch repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the businessmen dads who were going through notes. For Christ's sake, this was a preschool! You don't need pointers to present to five year olds.

At five past noon, the teacher came out and apologized for being behind schedule and that they would be ready for the parents shortly. Everyone nodded and said "of course," or "not a problem," then went back to utter silence.

"Hotch!" called the voice of Emily Prentiss, breaking the silence. Hotch's head snapped up and he pushed himself off the wall, as did just about every other heterosexual male occupying the hallway. Of course Hotch had always known Prentiss was beautiful, so it didn't surprise him that the men saw it too. What did surprise him was the sudden desire to punch them all in the face.

"Prentiss?" Regardless of how beautiful she was, he was still confused as to why she was here. He closed his eyes and sucked in breath when he saw the case files in her hands. This was exactly why he turned off his phone – so he didn't have to let down his son to go away on a case. But why was she holding so many?

"Sorry to bother you sir, but, um, well…you left these on your desk and I was having a hard time profiling The Joker," she said with a small smile handing the files to Hotch. Opening the files, Hotch gasped. If these were the fake files for the kids…he looked down at his bag and gulped. Pulling the out the files he had originally brought with him and opening him, both he and Prentiss both took a shaky breath. He had almost given five year old children files containing some of the most horrific pictures the team had ever seen - of mutilated children.

Hotch closed his eyes in horror. What if she hadn't come…oh god.

"Shit." That was all he could really say. He switched files with Prentiss, making sure that this time he had the right ones.

"That, sir, is a very large understatement. I think you owe me coffee for a month," Prentiss stated. All Hotch could do was nod. He was still absolutely horrified. What if…

"Hey! Stop asking yourself what if, okay? It could have happened, but it didn't. Just be happy it was me who found the files and not Reid because you know that he would be taking the disappearance of Sandy the Seal very seriously," she tried to joke. She smiled when she was rewarded for her efforts with a dimple.

"What would I do without you, Emily?" Hotch wondered aloud.

"Traumatize a classroom full of five year old children," she deadpanned right back, making Hotch roll his eyes.

"When I get back, we are going to have to look into that case," he added quietly. He had just become aware of the fact that all the adults were watching them.

"Exactly my thoughts." It was weird how they were always on the same wavelength. "I'll hand the files out to everyone and have JJ contact the local police and let them know we'll be coming down tonight." Hotch nodded his approval. "Ok I'll see you later Hotch," Prentiss said as she started to walk away.

"Emily?" She turned back around to face him. "Thanks," he said with a small smile. He really owed her a month's worth of coffee. Maybe even dinner…

"Anytime Hotch." Her returning smile made his smile widen, showing off the dimples, and he could have sworn she blushed before turning back around to leave the school.

Once she was halfway down the hall out of earshot, he turned back to the men in the hall, shooting them his top glare. "I think my agent would appreciate it if all of you stopped looking at her ass like a piece of meat," he spat, his voice ice cold.

They all immediately downcast their eyes, taking avid interest in the pattern on the floor and mumbled apologies.

The teacher then stuck her head out of the room and called all the parents into the room. They all filed in and sat in the chairs beside their child. Jack Hotchner jumped into his father's lap, yelling daddy like all the other children. Hotch couldn't help but notice that the only people that ever made him smile was his son and Emily. Huh.

After a few minutes the teacher got them all settled down and started her welcome speech for the parents.

/

Just as she was walking out of the school, Emily Prentiss heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire. Coming from inside the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N~ Finished chapter two! Hope you guys like it as much as the first!_

"Do not move Agent Hotchner. Do not even think about reaching for your gun, or I will blow your head off in front of your little boy. Do you understand me?" Hotch said nothing, giving the man his top notch glare and being careful to keep his face completely emotionless. In truth, he was terrified. Not for himself, but for Jack. What is he couldn't save him? Who knows what this man was capable of…

The door was in the back of the classroom, causing everyone to turn when the man entered after the teacher had already begun the welcoming speech. The man nodded a hello to the teacher, who got everyone's attention by restarting the presentation, and pretended to be one of the parents walking to sit by their child. This man, however, did not sit by a child. Once he was just a few feet from Hotch and Jack, he pulled out a gun and raised it to the ceiling, firing a single shot. After pushing Jack under the desk like the other parents, Hotch turned around to be face to face with a gun.

Looking the man straight in the eyes, Hotch remained calm while parents took their children from under the desks and went to a corner of the room. Thankfully, a friend of Jack's pulled Jack along with him. Hotch resisted the urge to run to Jack and pick him up when he heard his pained cries for his daddy.

"Now listen to me agent. You are going to do exactly what I say, or I will start shooting people. Okay?" Sobs could be heard from the corner of the room from both parents and children. Somehow, Hotch remained calm and collected. He couldn't let this man think that he had any power over him.

"Do you really think that this is the first time I've had a gun pointed at my head? You don't run this, I do. Now step back, and put the gun down."

The man laughed. "You like control don't you agent? What are you going to do? I have the gun. There is nothing you can do but-" He was cut off midsentence when Hotch slammed his body into the man, knocking him off his feet and pushing him to the ground and landing on top of him. The gun slid across the floor away from both of them. The man kneed Hotch in the stomach, and took the advantage by rolling on top of him and punching him in the face. Before he could get in a second punch, Hotch grabbed his fist and twisted it, causing the man to scream out in pain, and then flipped them again. Grabbing hold of both the man's wrists with one hand, Hotch reached down and pulled his back up weapon from his anklet. The sound of a gun being cocked was heard, but it didn't come from his gun. Feeling hard plastic press against the back of his head, Hotch froze.

"I'm sorry Agent Hotchner. Let go of your gun please. There is no need for this to get uglier than it already is. _What the hell? _He though. _The PRESCHOOL teacher is in on this?_

Knowing that he didn't stand a chance with his back to the gunman (gunwoman?) he reluctantly put his gun on the ground and slid it across the room out of reach. There were several things he could do in this kind of hostage situation, but none of those were options with all the civilians in the room. Before she could give any further instruction, there was a knock on the door.

/

_Shit!_ That was all Emily Prentiss thought when she heard the gun shot. She turned on her heels and ran towards the room. Peering through the slim window next to the door, she saw a man pointing a gun at a calm looking Hotch's head and parents running into the corner with their children. She let out a breath of relief when she saw someone pulling Jack along with them to the corner. Her heart broke when she saw him mouth daddy and he was crying. Jack shouldn't have to lose another parent, and he wouldn't. Not if she had anything to do about it.

Quickly pulling out her cell, she dialed Morgan's number, quickly filling him in. Unfortunately, it takes 30 minutes to get from Quantico to the preschool breaking the speed limit, and it was lunch hour, so the roads were going to be busy. It would be a miracle if they got there in less than 50 minutes.

Hanging up on Morgan and looking back in the window, Prentiss decided to screw protocol. Strauss could fire her later, but she was NOT going to let Hotch or his son (or anyone else her subconscious added) get hurt in any way. She let out a breath when she saw that Hotch had taken down the gunman, then sucked in again when she saw a woman pick up the gun he had tossed aside. Shit.

She had to come up with a plan fast. She didn't recognize the man from the hallway, so chances were he wouldn't know who she was either. It was still only fifteen minutes after the career day was supposed to start, so she decided to pretend to be a parent coming late. She could handle one unsub while Hotch took down the other.

Knocking on the door, she plastered a fake smile to her face and put her mask in place to cover her worry. _PLEASE don't let anything happen to them._

/

"Stand up," the woman commanded, tapping the gun against the side of Hotch's head. He pushed himself up off the ground, as did the man, who now was wearing stupid grin. She handed the gun to the man, who pointed it at Hotch again, this time from a longer distance so Hotch could not attack him again. The woman put on a smile and walked to the door, only slightly opening it.

Hotch tried not let his jaw drop when he saw Prentiss standing behind the door with what he knew to be a fake smile on her face. "Hi! I'm so sorry I'm late. I'm here for career day!" she said cheerily.

"Oh I'm sorry ma'am but career day has been cancelled. I apologize if you did not receive the email, and I am sorry to inconvenience you," the woman said with forced sincerity, already beginning to close the door. Just then Prentiss slipped her foot in the doorway, pulled her gun from her holster, and knocked the door open with her hip in one fluid movement. It was actually quite impressive, but that wasn't the time to think about that.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Hotch lunged forward, again knocking the man off his feet and sending him flying backwards into the bookshelf. Hotch pulled him off the shelf, pulled his arms from around his back, and pushed him down onto a desk. He pulled his cuffs from off his pocket and laced them through the leg of the heavy desk and cuffed him to it.

Meanwhile, the door had hit the teacher in the face, sending her stumbling backwards. Before she could do anything else, Prentiss had the gun pointed at her chest. She immediately raised her arms and broke down crying. Prentiss turned her head slightly, looking over at Hotch cuffing the man to the chair. She reached into her belt and tossed Hotch her cuffs, taking a step closer to gain control when Hotch came up behind the teacher to put the cuffs on.

Emily couldn't believe that a preschool teacher was in on this. Whatever she had been planning, she was going to do with all the children in the room. What was this all about?

Once the woman was cuffed, Hotch handed her off to Emily, then released on of the man's hands to unhook him from the desk. Thankfully, he was done putting up a fight and didn't resist when Hotch cuffed him again. Taking the woman in one hand and the man in the other, Emily started to exit the room.

"Prentiss?" Hotch called from behind her. She stopped and turned her head around.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," he said with a half smile.

"I think you owe me two months worth of coffee now," she replied with a grin.

"Get out of here Prentiss," Hotch huffed, rolling his eyes.

She chuckled. "Yes sir!"

/

Thankfully, Morgan had called the local police, and they were able to get to the school much faster than him and the rest of the team. Emily walked of the school and was met by two officers who took the man and woman, putting them in separate cars. The sheriff approached Emily and quickly took her statement before she rushed back inside to find Hotch and Jack. Three officers came with her.

"What kind of person fires off shots in a preschool?" one of the officers wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but I think there has to be some underlying motive. I'd like to, and I think Agent Hotchner would too, be able to speak to them, so if you could keep them in an interrogation room until we can get there, that would be great," Emily replied.

She tapped on the door before pulling it open and entering with the officers. Nodding in hello to Hotch and smiling at Jack, she stepped into the classroom and made sure that her gun was no longer visible to the children. They had seen enough of that already today.

A sudden pain came into her chest when she realized that these children would probably not be the same. What happened today would probably in some way affect them for the rest of their lives. _Everything leaves an impression at this age_, she thought. Not to mention how the parents must be feeling right now. It would be terrifying to be in this kind of situation to begin with, but having to fear for and protect your child from this kind of horror? This had to be horrible for them too.

"I was just telling the adults that they need to give a statement to an officer before they can leave with their children. The superintended called the room and the school board is giving Quantico PD and the FBI full cooperation and access to the teacher's files," Hotch stated, looking only at Emily as he spoke. He had his hands on Jack's shoulder, who was standing in front of him hugging his father's legs.

Emily gave him a tight smile and nodded. "These are Officers Lambent, Jones, and Corry. They will be taking your statements, as will I. It will only take a few minutes. I'm truly sorry that all of you and your children had to see all of that," she added sincerely.

For the next half hour, Emily and the three officers took statements from the parents. In that time, Emily had been slipped four phone numbers from single fathers, rolling her eyes tossing each of the business cards into the trash can after they walked away. She smiled when Hotch, the remaining person in line stepped up to her and sat down in the chair across from her, with a now sleeping Jack on his lap.

"So, tell me Agent Hotchner, what happened on the thirty-first of May 2010 at twelve ten pm?" she said in a flirty voice. _Where did that come from?_

Hotch grinned in return, showing both his dimples as he relaxed in his seat. "Well, if you must know, it all began this morning when out of nowhere, this beautiful woman saved me from an ugly authority figure, whose identity will not be disclosed, before she showed up to save his ass before he traumatized small children, which he did anyways ten minutes later. Then before I could be held hostage by an armed preschool teacher, this wonderful heroine saved my ass _again_ before anything bad could happen."

Emily looked down and blushed at his words, but was smiling. "Wow sir, that's a pretty eventful day. Though," the smile vanished from her face and her eyebrows furred together in concern. She reached up and ran her fingers over the cut from the man's punch on his cheek. "She didn't prevent all harm I see."

Hotch reached up and grabbed her hand in his, letting her palm rest against his face. "Hey, you came back. You came back, and if you didn't, I would still be in there, and probably not in the same condition I am now. You saved all those children, all the parent, me, and you saved Jack. And that, Emily, is something I can't, and won't ever stop thanking you for," he said looking deep into her eyes, feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Emily blushed again and gave him a smile before pulling her hand back. "Well sir, as it seems that I saved your ass three times today, I think you are now up to three months worth of coffee for me. Starbucks grande espresso, two sugars and extra cream please," she said standing up with another big smile. Rolling his eyes but smiling back, he replied, "jeez Prentiss! Three months worth of coffee is going to add up. How about dinner tomorrow night instead?"

"I'd like that," she said softly, eyes twinkling as she looked up at Hotch. "I'd really like that."

_A/N~ YAY! I thought I wouldn't have this done until the end of the week, but it turns out that there is a lot you can get done while procrastinating studying for exams! I don't know when the next chapter will be up, it's going to depend on how much I decide to put in the next chapter. Chapter three already has a detailed outline (in my head of course!), but I am debating whether or not to put the 'date' they have in there, or just go to day after. Tell me your thoughts! Thanks for all the reviews and support!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N~ Ok so due to popular demand, there will the date scene! It's going to go into the next and final chapter, and I will be working to get that up ASAP! Most of this chapter is going to be case-like stuff to try to make everything fit altogether, but I'll drop some H/P stuff in before the end. Enjoy!_

Morgan, JJ, Rossi, and Reid pulled up in an SUV just as Jessica did. They all jumped out and ran to Emily and Hotch, who was still holding a sleeping Jack.

"Are you guys okay?"

"What the hell happened?"

"This is already all over the news."

"What do you need us to do?"

"Are you sure you're both alright?"

Hotch and Emily were bombarded with questions and concerned looks from the team. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Hotch started explaining.

"We are fine, all three of us, and we already gave our statements. Just after the career day started, a man came in fired his gun into the ceiling. He took me at gunpoint, but I tackled him and took control. Then, his accomplice, Jack's teacher," JJ and Jessica sucked in a breath, Morgan's mouth dropped open, and Reid's eyes bulged out of their sockets. Rossi just looked pissed. "She took the gun and held me at gunpoint. Then Emily created a distraction long enough for me to take control of the man and Emily took care of the teacher." The fact that he called her Emily instead of Prentiss did not go unnoticed by the team. Morgan raised his eyebrows and threw Emily a curious look, which she deflected by rolling her eyes.

"JJ, if you could set up a press conference with the media and let them know that they are in lock up at Quantico PD and that they will be interrogated soon. Morgan, we also saw this case earlier and think it needs to be looked into." He passed Morgan the file he had mistakenly taken from the office and passed it to Morgan, who thankfully opened it in a way Jessica could not see. She didn't need to look at pictures of dead children after she had almost lost her nephew.

"Uh, Hotch, man - this case is local. The first kid went missing a week ago, the second three days after that, and the third yesterday. They still haven't found the third kid."

"What? How is that possible? Why were w e not immediately contacted? Three missing children and no one thought to call the FBI?" Hotch was furious. THREE CHILDREN! They should have been notified after the first one went missing. Gritting his teeth together in frustration, Hotch told Rossi to talk to the Quantico PD. JJ was already set up with the press and in the middle of delivering a statement. Turning to Jessica, he asked her to take Jack for the rest of the day. Between the shooting and the new case, there was no way he would be able to take care of his son today too. She quickly agreed, taking Jack from his arms and walking to her car.

By that time Rossi came back over saying that the local PD had formally invited them in on the case. The mother of the first child had never reported the disappearance, and opted not called the police, but had hired a private investigator instead. Apparently the parents were in a custody battle and it had not been the first time the child had gone missing, always being found with his father, who had decided to take him for the weekend. She was building up the evidence to use in court. The parents of the second child had gone out of town, just returning two days ago. The elderly grandfather had been taking care of the young boy, also five years old, and had not noticed the child had gone missing until the next day. The police had put together the disappearances when a hiker found the bodies buried next to each other in the woods under a thin layer of leaves. After the parents were notified, a third couple came in and reported their child missing after they had come home from a date. That was all late last night. The file ended up on Hotch's desk early this morning.

"Ok we will go to Quantico PD and set up. Reid, start a geographical profile of the families. Rossi, go to the third child's home. Look at the scene and talk to the parents. That scene is the one most likely to be undisturbed. Morgan, get JJ and talk to the parents of the first and second child. See if there was anything out of the ordinary going on, and find out what. Prentiss and I will head back the police department and quickly talk to the shooters from today before we start victimology," Hotch said dismissing the team and sending them their separate ways. Emily gave her keys to Morgan to take JJ to the first and second children's homes since they only brought one SUV. Her, Reid, and Hotch all piled into Hotch's car and headed to the police department.

/

The ride to the department was extremely awkward. Hotch and Emily both knew that things would have to revert back to how they were just two hours ago - strictly professional. She couldn't be Emily anymore; she had to be Prentiss.

Reid was sitting in the back seat, twiddling his thumbs. It was weird being in Hotch's car. Like he suspected, his supervisor's car was extremely clean – almost like it was new. Of course though, there was a small car seat for Jack, which Reid was squished into due to the small size of the car. The ride went by in complete silence. Prentiss rolled her eyes but chuckled when Reid nearly threw himself out of the car once Hotch put it in park.

"Umm, I'm going to start the geographic profile now. I'll see you guys later," he said before dashing inside.

"Am I really that bad?" Hotch wondered out loud once Reid was out of earshot. Prentiss just chuckled again and threw him an amused smile. "Maybe."

/

"You know, Janet, threatening to kill a federal agent is a very large crime. Pointing a gun at a federal agent's head while a classroom full of five year olds are present? You're toast – you know that? You're probably looking at fifteen, twenty years. And that is if the judge is nice. But, if I say you cooperated, that might help you out." Emily leaned forward in the chair and the woman instinctively leaned back. And they said Hotch was the scary one.

"Tell me what happened."

/

"It was a nice try, James. But attacking a federal agent – twice? Did you really think you would get away with that?" James Hogan cringed in his seat at Hotch's tone of voice. _Damn this guy is scary!_

"You knew who I was. I'm guessing your friend, Ms. Fields told you that. So you knew that a federal agent would have to come to school if there was some kind of event, so you set up career day. You did this to lure me there. You thought I would give in easily if there were other parents and children, including my own. But you were wrong. You see, James…I always get the guy." This guy had been a cocky bastard earlier, so Hotch didn't see a reason why not to act a cocky bastard back. Besides, he did always get the guy. His team was that good.

Pushing himself out of the chair and walking around the table once in silence watching the man squirm, Hotch shot his best glare at James Hogan.

"So I know the how. Now I want to know the why. Why target me? Why in front of all the kids and parents? Tell me why, James." Hotch kind of liked seeing the man jump every time he used his first name like that. He was starting to sweat too, and Hotch knew that it would be too long before the man dropped all his pretexts' and showed what he really was – a coward.

/

"Did you get anything from Janet Fields?" Hotch asked Prentiss as she exited the interrogation room. She shook her head. "You?"

"Not yet. We'll try again later after we look into the child abductions and murders. For now we'll let them stew."

The second they walked into the debriefing room, Reid jumped out of his seat and was rushing towards them talking a mile a minute.

"Hotch, Emily – I narrowed down the geographical profile and found that all of these kids lived in similar areas; affluent communities, but not only the second child was living close to a park or recreational center, so I think it's safe to eliminate that for where the unsub met them. I just called Garcia and she is looking through financial records and trying to connect the families," he finished, looking out of breath.

"Good work Reid. Let me know when Garcia calls back. Prentiss, let's put together victimology."

They worked in silence, a comfortable one this time, and focused on the case at hand. They worked hard and fast; there was still a kid missing, and the unsub was escalating.

"Hotch, look at the way the bodies are laid out. The abuse is extremely brutal, but the way they are laying suggests remorse. Everything else about our unsub profiles that they aren't capable of that. Do you think we're looking at two unsubs?" Prentiss asked.

Examining the photos and autopsy report, Hotch realized that she was right. One person was doing the abuse while the other was dumping the bodies. The one doing the dumping was the submissive one, they assumed, while the abuser was the dominant.

Rossi, Morgan, and JJ walked back into the station. They had talked over the phone, comparing the information they had gathered from each family. They walked back into the station. Morgan raised his eyebrows (again) when he noticed how close Hotch and Prentiss were sitting, but thought it would be wise not to comment. Have one of them on your bad side was horrible enough. Both of them…you were a goner. Poor Agent Anderson. He shook his head sadly.

Rossi, also noticing the close proximity, cleared his throat upon entering the room, smirking when they both jumped away from one another. "You guys are going to love this. All the parents and the grandfather remember their son talking to a woman the day before their disappearance. Morgan got a sketch artist to draw who the first child's mother described."

Morgan took over from there. "When the grandfather of the second victim recalled his grandson talking to a woman too, we showed him the picture and he confirmed the ID. JJ sent the picture to Rossi, and they remembered that woman too. They also said they recognized her from the school."

Just as he handed the picture to Hotch, the phone rang.

"Hey baby girl – show me what cha got!"

"Oh don't fret sexy – I will show you everything!" Garcia said back with a seductive tone. Emily eyed Hotch, who hadn't moved a muscle since Morgan had handed him the sketch.

"Ok so all the children's families were from different affluent neighborhoods, they didn't all go to the same grocery stores, work at the same places, anything like that. So instead of looking into the families I looked into the children themselves. Listen to this – they all go to the same school. Francis Jones Preschool and Kindergarten."

They all froze. Emily looked over Hotch's shoulder and at the picture and gasped. Janet Fields. No one said anything for a long time.

"Hello? Is everyone okay?...Guys? Someone – answer me!"

'We're here baby girl. Did you say Francis Jones Preschool?"

"Yes I did sweet cheeks – what is it?"

"That's the school Jack goes to. And Janet Fields, his teacher, is one of our unsubs," Hotch said, his voice completely void of any emotion. Stoic. It's one thing to know your son's teacher was plotting to kill you. It's a whole other think to know your son's teacher is an accomplice to the murder of two boys, and the abduction a third. Boys that were all Jack's age. He suddenly felt very sick.

"Garcia, run a background check on Janet Fields and James Hogan. Get back to me as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir, right away," Garcia said without any of her usual remarks. It was all business now.

After she hung up, it was silent again. Everyone was looking at Hotch to say something.

Regaining his composure after a long pause, he finally spoke up. "So Fields gains information about the children through their records at school. She would know when the parents were going on vacation, she and the rest of the staff at the school would have been notified about the custody battle over the first child and that the father was trying to take him, and she could have easily gained the trust of the third child to know that his parents were going out that night. They trusted her because they saw her around the school, so they didn't think twice to go with her. She brought them to Hogan and then disposed of their bodies in the woods when he killed them."

Everyone nodded in unison. "Prentiss, talk to Janet Fields again. I'll talk to Hogan. We need to find out where the third child is. Since he was taken yesterday there is still chance he is alive. JJ, keep the press under control when they find out, but don't release a statement until we know why they decided to try to take control of the classroom and we know anything else about the children. Reid, call the parents and have them come down to identify Janet Fields. Morgan, you and Rossi need to get a task force together and go to Field's and Hogan's residence." With that he got up and walked back to the interrogation rooms. The rest of the team went separate ways. Prentiss caught up with Hotch and stood next to him outside the interrogation room, both of them looking through the one way glass at Janet Fields.

"She was with Jack every day. She knew I was an FBI agent, so she must have known other things about Jack's schedule, too. What if she decided that Hogan would like him? What if…" his voice trailed off, getting thick, and his expression became pained. Placing her hand on Hotch trying to offer him comfort, she squeezed and rubbed his arm.

"It could have, but it didn't. That's what you need to focus on. Nothing happened, and now nothing is going to happen. You always get the guy, remember?" she said with a tight smile. One corner of his lips turned up in response and he looked down at Prentiss.

"You know what Emily? You're pretty awesome."

She grinned. "So I've been told. Now go kick some ass sir," she said before they parted, going into the interrogation rooms.

/

Case closed. Janet quickly flipped on Hogan once she realized that Prentiss knew about her assistance in the abductions and murders. Morgan and Rossi found the boy at Hogan's house, tied up in the basement. He was scared, for obvious reasons, but physically, he was fine. The boy went home to his parents at the end of day, and that was just about as good of day as they were going to get.

James Hogan, Janet Field's boyfriend, had always had a thing for abusing things. It started with this house pets, and then children. He had used Janet's position at the preschool to access children. Janet had known that Jack's father was a high ranking chief in the FBI, and that he dealt with violent crimes. She set up career day to be able to be able to watch Hotch. If he was working the case and showed any suspicion towards her, she planned to send a text message to Hogan telling him to run. She tried to hide the bodies so that they wouldn't be found, but was in for a surprise when Hogan called to tell her that police had found where she buried the children. He told her to go along with what he was going to do. His hope was to convince Hotch to not look into the case by threatening him in front of his son and all the other parents and children. Idiot. It's Hotch – you can't take him down without a fight.

Hotch gave the team the rest of the night off, the next day, and the weekend. All he wanted to do was go home to his son. He wanted to make sure that none of the events of the day had completely traumatized Jack in any way.

After Jessica left, Hotch made Jack's favorite dinner and popped in his favorite movie – Finding Nemo. He watched it so many times Hotch was seriously afraid of quoting Dorie in the middle of a briefing. Half way through the movie, Jack leaned onto his father's chest.

"Daddy?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yeah son," Hotch replied. He could tell by his son's voice that this had something to do with what happened today.

"Are you going to go away like mommy?" Hotch felt tears on soak through his shirt and felt his heart break a little bit. He hated seeing his son in this much pain.

"Jack, I am going to do everything I can to stay with you all the time. Okay buddy?" Hotch's eyes were stinging. He knew he shouldn't promise not to get hurt on the job – that would be inevitable, and he hated breaking promises to his son.

"Okay daddy. I love you."

"I love you too Jack."

/

Emily woke up to a loud ringing sound. Groaning, she flipped over in her bed and pulled the pillow over her head. It was her day off, why couldn't she be allowed to sleep? After seriously considering shooting the battery out of her phone, she decided to answer it. _Good choice_, she thought when she checked caller ID. It was Hotch.

"Hello beautiful," Hotch said almost cheerily into the phone.

"Don't you know what sleep is handsome?" Emily said into the phone, her voice thick with sleep. Regardless, she couldn't help by smile. He thought she was beautiful.

He chuckled. "Well, Emily, I don't think any parent with a five year old child knows what it's like to sleep in past seven. Damn internal clocks," he said chuckling again.

Emily's smile grew when she thought about Jack, then her face dropped. "How is he?" she asked worriedly.

Hotch took a deep breath and let it out before answering. Jack had woken him up at around two that morning saying he had a nightmare where he needed help but his daddy hadn't come. Hotch lay awake for the next hour holding Jack and trying to keep himself under control.

"Last night he had a nightmare, but this morning he is fine. Sometimes I wish I had his ability to forget things like what happened yesterday so quickly," Hotch sighed.

_Poor Jack and Hotch,_ Emily thought. She wished that she could help in some way, but didn't know how.

"Well anyways, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with Jack and I today. He has been asking to see the new Shrek since it came out last week, and today he pulled the Puss 'n' Boots eyes and I couldn't say no. He also begged for the 'cool Miss Emily' to come too, so I thought I'd call. But if there is something you'd rather be doing on your day off than seeing an animated movie with your boss and his son, I would under-"

"Don't be ridiculous Hotch!" she said cutting him off. "There is nothing I would rather do today then go see Shrek with you guys! What time should I meet you at the theatre?"

"Umm, how about 1:00? I'll pick you up at noon and we can have lunch before the movie starts. Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about your alternative coffee repayment – are you still okay with that?"

Fully awake now, Emily pushed herself out of bed and walked to her closet to find something to wear. "I haven't forgotten either. And yes, I am definitely still okay with that," she said smiling. "When do you want to do it?" She refrained from calling it a date. Was it a date? She didn't know, and she didn't want to push him into something he didn't want. _I hope it is a date…_she thought, her mind trailing off at the thought of dating Aaron Hotchner.

"Emily? Emily? Are you there?" Hotch asked, snapping her out of her fantasy. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. What did you say?" she asked, slightly frazzled. _Get a hold of yourself Emily! Your boss just almost caught you daydreaming about him!_

"I said that Jessica is already taking Jack to her parent's house for the weekend, so if we went out tomorrow that would work if you're free. How does that sound it?" He noticed the slightly husky tone in her voice that hadn't been there since she had first woken up. He grinned. So they were on the same page.

"Yeah, yeah, tomorrow's fine. Sounds great. What time and place?" She was flustered again. He changed the date so Jack wouldn't be home…

"I'll let you know the time as soon as I make the reservation, but the place is going to be a secret." He paused, then deciding to play with her a little bit, "Are you okay though? You sound a little flustered?"

Shaking her head viciously and blushing, she said, "no, no, I'm fine. I'm just going to get ready and I'll see you at noon."

"Okay Emily sounds good. I'll see you soon."

"Bye Hotch."

"Goodbye Emily."

Hanging up the phone and leaning back against her door to her bathroom, a very large smile broke across her face. He was making a reservation – it was so a date!

_A/N~ __ Almost done! The next chapter will be the movie and date since this one is already longer than I planned, but I think it worked. Hope you guys liked it! Thanks for all your reviews!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N~ Final chapter! Whoo whoo! Warning: This chapter is very mush. Just FYI. Sorry this has taken so much longer than I thought to get up…every time I was ready to post it, I felt like I had to change something big and ended up rewriting the whole thing. I like the end product though! I have a few ideas already for some to keep us rolling through the summer, and I can get things out sooner because NO SCHOOL! __ Enjoy!_

Emily almost ran from her kitchen to the door once she heard the knock. Swinging the door open, she was immediately met by the two people who had somehow wove their way into her heart over the last twenty-four hours. Emily's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Hotch, who was smiling down at her with those gorgeous dimples, then turned her attention to Jack who had thrown himself at her legs the second she opened the door. He had the same dimples as his father – so adorable.

"MISS EM'LY!" screamed the enthusiastic five year old.

"Hey kiddo! How's my favorite little guy?" she asked, squatting down to Jack's level and casting a look up at his father, who was still in the doorway, smiling down at them.

Hotch knew he looked like an idiot just standing there, but they looked so cute together, and he could really get used this. It reminded him of having a family again.

"Good Miss Em'ly! We going to movie!" He was just too cute.

"Yeah we are big man!" she said ruffling his hair. Standing up, she looked at Hotch and smiled. His dark eyes were warm and uncharacteristically easy to read. He was happy.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said back, with a stupid grin still on her face.

"You ready to go?" he said picking up Jack and placing him on his hip. It was so domestic for Hotch, but Emily figured she could get used to it. Grabbing her purse, she followed them out the door and locked it. Hotch set Jack back down when he struggled to get out of his father's grasp, and stood between the two adults, taking one of their hands in each of his.

/

Lunch was…interesting…to say the least. There was an awkward explanation when the hostess had mistaken them as a family.

"Uhh, well, actually you see, umm, we're not…well I don't think we are…but he's, uh, my boss…are we? Anyway, table for three," Emily said tripping over every word completely tongue tied. Hotch smirked at her obvious discomfort. She was so cute. They didn't even try to explain when the waitress commented on their 'cute family' too.

After that, other than Jack spilling his chocolate milk on Hotch and the water he got afterwards on Emily, the lunch went fairly well. Emily tried to pay for her half of the check, but Hotch of course being the gentleman huffed rolling his eyes and snatched the bill.

"Don't think that you are going pay for anything today, and you better not even try tomorrow," he said, and that was the end of it.

Today was all about Jack and keeping him happy. Jack was thrilled to have his daddy and Miss Emily together because they were the bestest people in the world. Hotch was not oblivious to his son's crush on Emily, but tried to keep her from noticing it. It would be really awkward if he blindsided her with a marriage proposal, which he had already done to three girls in his class since he started at his new school five months ago. Jack would definitely need to spend less time with Dave.

"When I grow up, I want to be an ogre," he stated very matter-of-factly on the way to the car. He was holding Emily's hand, who had her other hand wrapped around Hotch's waist, like his was around hers. The feeling was comforting and felt…right. Both Hotch and Emily started laughing and couldn't help but smile at the little boy.

"What? He was so cool! Daddy did you see when he…" Jack kept going on and on about every detail of the movie, even as he started to fall asleep in the back of the car. Looking back at him and smiling after his talking ceased, Emily smiled and then looked over at Hotch, who was doing the same thing through the rear view mirror.

"He's really a great kid Hotch. And he's so lucky to have a dad like you," Emily said, putting her hand on top of Hotch's, which was resting the large armrest between them, and squeezed it. Turning his gaze to her, his features soften. Emily didn't ever say things that weren't true, or even half-true. She really meant what she just said. Turning his hand over and intertwining their fingers, he squeezed back. "Thank you, Emily."

"Anytime, sir," she said winking, causing the newly famous half smile to pop out. "So," she said after a few seconds of silence. "Do I get a hint as to where we are going tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

"Not a chance," he said, shaking his head and grinning more.

"Really? Ok fine – can you at least tell me what I need to wear?"

Turning into her apartment complex, he gave her another half smile and winked. "I'll pick you up at eight. Wear something sexy."

/

"Daddy we need to talk," Jack Hotchner said very seriously to his father, standing in the doorway of Hotch's bathroom. Spitting out and rinsing his mouth, he put the toothbrush down and turned to his son and bent down to his level. When he answered, he used the same serious tone. "What do you need to talk about Jack?"

"You need to sit down daddy. This is big." Hotch tried not to smile at his five year old son's seriousness. This must be important, but whatever it was wasn't scaring him. He looked, determined almost.

"Okay Jack, I'm sitting. What is it?" Jack took in a deep breath and then looked up at his dad.

"Miss Em'ly is really funny and pretty and nice so I want to marry her," he said pulling out a ring from his pocket. It was the kind of ring you got off a frosted cupcake from Kroger at a kid birthday party. For a second, Hotch didn't know what to say. Crap. This was what he was trying to avoid. He didn't know how to tell him that he couldn't marry Emily without making him upset. He had to try to let him down easy.

"Well Jack, here's the thing. Miss Emily is a lot older than you. She is my age, so she can't marry you. But you know what, that doesn't mean that she doesn't love you, because she does. She loves you very, very much, but she loves you in a different way than how married people love each other. But I agree with you; Miss Emily is very nice and funny and extremely beautiful. And you know what? I think that you will be seeing Miss Emily a lot more pretty soon. How does that sound?" Hotch said holding his breath. _Please don't cry, please don't cry._

"Okay fine daddy," Jack said looking dejected, but not in tears. Then his tiny head shot up and he smiled at his father. "Daddy, if I can't marry Miss Emily, can you? Then she can be there FOREVER!" By the end of his thought he was jumping up and down yelling please over and over. Hotch closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We'll see Jack," he finally said, trying to let it show in his voice that it was unlikely. It was the same way he responded every time Jack asked for a puppy. In reality, Hotch kind of liked the idea of marrying Emily. She was funny and nice like Jack said, but she also was the kind of person he could rely on with anything. There was something about her that just made everyone around her happy, and her smile was the only other smile besides Jack's that made him want to smile back. Her laugh from down in the bull pin was always a breath of fresh air. Not to mention that she was down-right gorgeous.

"We'll see."

/

Five minutes 'til eight, Emily was running around her apartment with one shoe in her hand, the other hand on her foot, her dress only half zipped, mascara wand in the same hand as her shoe trying not to let them touch, frantically searching for her black clutch, and telling Hotch on the phone which was in her free hand that she would be ready at eight with no problem. Shit.

Hanging up and quickly strapping on one shoe, then the other, she sucked in to zip up the rest of her dress without pinching her skin. She was mentally slapping herself for not starting to get ready earlier, but what could she do now. Coating her eyelashes with a final coat of mascara, she put it away looking at the clock. Two minutes to eight, and her was always on time. Again, shit.

Unable to find the black clutch, she gave up and grabbed her red one, rolling her eyes when she realized that she should have used that one all along and then she wouldn't of been going crazy looking for her other one. _If we go out again, we are going to Applebee's_, she thought to herself. She did have to admit thought that she looked pretty good. The dress definitely fit Hotch's 'sexy' dress code, but didn't look slutty. As she was fixing her curls in the mirror, she smiled when she heard the doorbell ring.

Practically running towards the door, she checked the peep hole just to be sure before she threw it open. Wow – he looked great. He had on one of his regular suits, minus the tie, and had two buttons on the top undone. It was sexy.

"Hey," she said breathlessly.

He used the full force of his dimples as he smiled at her. "Hey. You look absolutely gorgeous Emily," he said. She blushed not at his words, but how he said it. There was something there she couldn't quite pinpoint. "And you did well following my instructions for wearing something sexy," he said in a lighter tone. She smiled back. "Well, sir, you don't look too bad yourself."

Smirking, he pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back. Red ones. "I got these for you," he said, handing them too her. Emily bit her lip and held back tears. That was the sweetest thing anyone had done for her in a long, long time. Without thinking, she leaned up to quickly kiss his cheek. "Thank you," she said, her voice a bit thick. "Umm, I'm just going to put these in a vase really quick. Come on in." She turned to walk back to the kitchen.

Stepping into her apartment, he closed the door and took the minute alone to collect himself. She looked amazing in that silky red dress. It clung to her curves, accenting her chest and immediately drawing his attention towards it. He felt like he was in high school again when he tilted his head slightly to the side when she stood on her tippy toes and reached upward for a vase on the top shelf of the cabinet with her back towards him. This was going to be a long night.

Emily smiled as she turned back to Hotch. She had turned around abruptly and caught his head snap straight. Huh. She walked a bit slower than usual and swayed her hips a bit more walking back to him. Winking, she opened the door and pulled him out of her apartment, linking their arms and resting her hand on his forearm. "Lead the way Hotch," she said looking up at him.

"Emily, I think tonight you can call me Aaron." He would feel too much like her boss if she called him Hotch all through dinner. Then it would feel like they were at some local pub discussing case notes and not on a date.

"Okay, Aaron." It felt weird calling him that, though she knew it was weirder that she thought it was weird. Why should it be weird calling someone by their first name? Neathertheless, she liked saying it. No one else, aside from Dave and Jessica, called him Aaron. She kind of felt special.

/

After they were seated and ordered their drinks, they started talking. They talked about everything from their favorite childhood memories to their favorite colors. The more Aaron learned about Emily, the more he wanted to know, and vice versa. Emily laughed more in the ninety minutes she spent with Hotch than she had during her entire relationships with her last three boyfriends. And she really liked this side of Hotch. It was one that she had never seen before, probably only the night the team went out when Gideon was still around and Hotch brought Haley to the bar. She felt a sense of pride that she could bring that side of him back again after it had been so long.

Hotch couldn't believe how relaxed he felt. He did really 'let loose' as Morgan would say. Emily made him smile, laugh, and be…happy. It hit him midsentence and he just started at her. She made him happy. He hadn't been happy in a long time, and he certainly wasn't going to give it up now.

"Aaron?" Emily's voice snapped him out of his internal revelation. Shaking his head a bit to shake it off, he apologized and asked what he had been saying before. The conversation picked back up and they continued talking until the waiter made it pretty obvious that they needed to leave.

Holding hands, they walked to the car in comfortable silence. Emily tipped her head to rest it against his shoulder. She knew that no matter how well tonight went, they were both professionals and wouldn't show any affection whatsoever in the office. She had to get what she could before they had to go back to their old demeanors on Monday.

He surprised her by unhooking their fingers and wrapped his arm around her waist. Then she froze when turned his head and lightly kissed the top of her head. _Shit! _He thought. _Was that too soon? Of course it was you idiot. It's our first 'date' and you kissed her head just like the couple three tables down who had been together for thirty years did. You're moving too fast Aaron. Nice job; now you freaked her out and she will feel awkward because there is no way in hell she feels the same way._

Emily's breath hitched and she froze. _Oh my god, he feels the same way,_ was her only thought before she quickly turned in his arms, grabbing his face with both hands and crushing her lips to his. It took a second before he realized what had just happened, but then immediately wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and the other fisted in her hair. Then he kissed her back.

They stood wrapped in each other's arms, holding themselves together as tightly as possible, until air was absolutely necessary. Their lips pulled apart, but they didn't let go of one another. Emily rested her forehead against Aaron's, breathing heavily but smiling. Aaron looked into Emily's eyes for any signs of regret found only the happiness and joy that reflected from his own. He gently pressed his lips back on Emily's before pulling back again and resting his forehead against hers.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," she said breathlessly. She couldn't stop smiling. Truth be told, Emily Prentiss had always had some kind of feelings for her boss, but always shoved it away, never acting on or even recognizing that feeling. It all just went into one her many boxes, never to be heard of again. But this weekend broke that box open and all those feelings she had pushed away for the past three years came out, spilling years of passion into the kiss.

"Yeah?" he said, smiling back. He didn't know what to do or say. All he knew was that the woman he was falling for somehow loved him too. He couldn't remember being this happy.

"Yeah," she breathed, looking into his eyes. He leaned forward and recaptured her lips into another passionate kiss.

After what seemed like forever, they pulled apart, realizing that they were still in the middle of the parking lot. Aaron wrapped his arm back around her waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder again as they walked towards the car. Like a perfect gentleman, he opened her door for her before pulling out of the parking lot. Not much was said on the way back to her apartment, they just held hands and silently took in what had just happened. They both knew that they wanted whatever it was that was between them to continue, but other than that, they were at loss of what to do. No matter how much he cared about her, he'd still be her boss, and she'd still be his subordinate. Do they tell the team right away, or do they wait? What will Strauss do? What will Jack think? There was so many things they had to figure out.

"Do you want to come in? I think there's some stuff we need to talk about," she said. Of course, she also thought, there's some stuff we need to do without talking. Deciding to keep that part to herself for now, she tried to make her voice as innocent as possible.

"Are we just going to talk?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows in a joking voice. She started giggling like a love struck teenager.

"Come on!" she said pulling him from the car.

/

They decided that they would keep their new relationship under wraps for a few months before letting the team. They were going to have to go back to strictly professional at the office. He was Hotch, she was Prentiss. They couldn't let anything show – no extra long glances, no constantly looking at each other thought the window to his office, and no smiling at each other every time they passed. In other words, work had to be hell until they decided to tell Rossi, who had good connections with some of the higher ups who could influence Strauss.

Aaron was lying on the couch with Emily on his chest, arms wrapped around one another. Emily tilted her head and kissed his cheek.

Eyes crinkling, he asked what that was for.

"Just for being you," she responded smiling. He pushed himself up to meet her lips and kissed her again. This kiss, though just as passionate as the ones before, had something different. Emily giggled when Hotch flipped them on the couch so he was on top of her, running his tongue along her bottom lip at the same time, asking for entrance which she happily gave. They would have stayed like that forever had they not needed to breathe. Pulling apart, Aaron looked beneath him at Emily, lips swollen from the kiss, hair sprawled out across the arm of the couch. She looked beautiful.

"You know Emily," he said between pants. "I think I'm falling for you."

Emily broke out into a huge smile, and leaned up to kiss his lips lightly, pulling away before either one of them could deepen the kiss. Still breathing heavily, she replied, "I sure hope so Aaron," before pulling his head back down onto hers.


End file.
